Method for creating aerial effects



1936- J. c. HADDOCK ET AL 7,062,511

METHOD FOR CREATING AERIAL EFFECTS Filed Nov. 20, 1953 2 I I 2,8 'l

:2 47 M Z5 i4 3m entor John aHaddo/ak zany-man 'Janvtlle fi/Mflm 4-Ottomeg Patented Dec. 1, 1936 2.003.511 METHOD ran cnEA'rmG scam. Emc'rsJohn C. Haddock; Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and Zantiord D. Granville,Springfield, Mass; Alta M. Granville administratrix otsaid Zantiord D.

Granville, deceased Original application April is, 1932, Serial No.

605,070. Divided and this application November 20, 1933, Serial No.700,180

2 Claims. (01. 40-127) The present application is a divisional applica-'tion of the earlier case, Serial No, 605,070.

Although this invention relates particularly to methods of advertisingin the air, it isnot the purpose of the applicants to limit it to such.

-It has beenfound impractical to use the ex-,

haust gases alone to produce a dense or sumciently permanent smoke cloudor to use a. separate apparatus to form and emit the clouds oi smoke, sowe have provided an. apparatus and method for creating this smoke effectthat is v superior to any known. One of-the objects used in our methodof creating this effect is to provide an apparatus that can beconveniently installed -in.any airplane and to render thesameeasilyaccessible to the control -of the driver.I

'Another object of: our invention-is toprovide' inthis apparatusaneedlecontrol valve ap roxie mately at the injection jetitself.- The advan--tage of having the control located at this point eliminateslag in'the-emitting ofsmoke, when; pressed, inasmuchas the oilhas a very shortdistance' to travel before it vaporizes. r In addition, the shutting oflof the fuel inthis fashion prevents the drippingof oilinto the-- exhaustpipe. In the absence of thisltypeof shut-.ofl, the smoke apparatuswillcause a raggedstream of smoke .to train the main column after thecontrol hasbeen shut ofl xfThis smudge'of 1 trailing smoke is prevalenton all other types or injection systems and, of course, is fatalto goodskywr iting. The shut-oifmust be clean; so with this apparatus it ispossible to write dots and L dashes which are absolutely perfect andvwhich have no connecting stringsofsmokewhich tend to mar theclearness-of'each mark.

Anotherobject of our invention is to'have, at' all times, a constantpressure at the nozzle. This constant'pressure is createdby means. Manoil' pump" which will rapidly draw the liquid from the tank andthoroughly mix the oilwith any appropriate chemical and will keep thetwo vthoroughly mixed at all times. This eliminates the necessity ofmixing material before placing it in the tank. 7

Another object of our invention is .to provide a needle control valveand jet assembly which 0 is'cap'able of convenient removal, cleaning andreplacing of a jet ina short space of time, In

I most types of assembly'thedack of convenient accessibility has provenvery detrimental.

The invention will be'best understood-from 2 -55 further descriptionwith reference tofthe attached drawing illustrating a practicalembodiment of the same.

Referring to the drawing:

Figure 1 represents an airplane with the smoke producing apparatusattached thereto. 6

Figure 2 is a section and elevation of the various parts of theapparatus.

Figure'3 is a detailed sectional view. of the nozzle attachment.

Figure 4 is an elevation of the smoke control 10 lever.

Referring to Figure 1, we have shown an airplane III with the smokeproducing apparatus attached thereto. Referring, to Figure 2 which showsthe apparatus in detail, we have provided a 15 tank for the supply'ofsmoke-producing fluid, vthe tank I lhaving vent l2 and a replenishinginlet l3. We have placed an oil pump M, which is preferably drivenby theairplane engine, between the pressure regulating valve and the tank 2which continually draws the fluid from the tank through the inlet pipeto the passage l'l in the pressure relief valve l5 and then through thepipe |8 to the passage |0-in the needle control valve 20. 25

The needle control valve comprises a chamber 2| provided with aninterior flange 22 adapted to retain the spring 23. The chamber 2| isadapted to. receive the needle shaft 24, said shaft having integrallyattached thereto the spring 30 seat .25. The needle 24 is controlled bythe cable 26 and attached to the cable as at 21 and 123.

We have provided'a valve seat 29 for the needle valve -24 which whenraised by the pull on the 1 cable 26 by the operator allows the fluid toflow 5 from the passage i9 into the chamber 2| then through the passage30 in the nozzle attaching bolt 3| and then out through the jets 32 inthe lower part of the nozzle 33, to be then vaporized by the heat in theexhaust gases-in the exhaust o 34 of the plane l0.

The nozzle 33 has an enlarged portion 35 which is flanged at 30 and hasa passage 31 which connects with the passage 30in the nozzle attachingbolt 3 1.

v The exhaust pipe 34 is provided withan opening 38 adapted to receivethe nozzle 33 and the metal is turned upward and externally threaded at39 and is engaged by the internal threads of the nut 40. The nut 40 isflanged at 4| secures 5 the fiange'42 of the nozzle attaching bolt 3| tothe flange 36 of the nozzle 33 and the uptumed member of theexhaust pipe34. f Upon the releaseof the cable 26 by the operatorthe spring23seatsthe needle 24 in the 2 needle seat 28 and shuts oi! the flow of thesmoke producing fluid almost instantly due to the close proximity of theneedle 24 to the nozzle 33 in the to the continuous drawing of the fluidfrom the tank I l by the pump l4, the fluid flows up through the passage43.raising the ball 44 against the action of the spring 45 and outthrough the passage 46 into the return pipe 41 and then back into thetank I I. The pressure is regulated by means of the adjusting screw 48and is registered by means of any suitable pressure gauge 43 which islocated on the dashboard as at 50.

Ordinarily, the needle control 24 is seated by the spring 23 and isreleased by the manipulation by the operator of the lever 5 i (see Fig.4) which is located on a control stick 52 oi the plane levers attachedto the stick 52 by means of the screws 53. Integrally attached to thelever BI is a tube 54; adapted to receive the cable 28 and is securedas'at 55.

Located below the fuselage and just back of the exhaust pipe 34 is apowerful searchlight 56, so positioned as to permit the dense clouds ofsmoke emitting from the exhaust pipe to flow over and around andpermitting the beam of light from the searchlight to be cast upon thedense clouds of smoke while flying through the air regardless of thespeed of the plane.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows:

Prior to the operation of the device to pro-' duce a meteor or cometeffect while the plane is in flight, the pump which operates withthemgine of the plane is continuously drawing the liquid from the tankand drawing it to the pressure regulating valve. The needle controlvalve being normally closed'prevents the flow of the liquid through thepipe l8, the pressure thereby opening the ball valve 44 and permittingthe,

liquid to return to the tank ll through the outlet passage 46 and thereturn passage 41.

The above described operation insures a complete mixture of the oil orother liquid and any suitable chemical for producing a smoke effect. Ifso desired, the chemical may be introduced for imparting a suitablecolor to the smoke stream.

The operator of the plane while flying at night, wishes to create ameteor or comet eflect, manipulates the control stick lever 5| whichreleases the needle control from its seat, which allows the liquid toflow through the small opening be-' low the valve seat, and then throughthe passage 30 and 21 into the nozzle 33, and then through the jets 32into the exhaust pipe where it becomes vaporized and then passes out ofthe exhaust opening in the form of a heavy smokelike vapor to beeventually illuminated by the rays of the searchlight.

The oil pump permits of a high pressure ,at all times, and is controlledby a relief valve and a pressure gauge, which may be adjusted by meansof the pressureadjusting screw 48.

When the needle control is seated, the flow of-the liquid is stopped andas the oil pump continues to force the liquid through the pressureregulating valve, the liquid no longer escapes ithrough the injectionvalve and so a back presor meteor.

sure results, thereby raising the ball nmia seat and so returns throughthe passage 43 j through the return pipe and the fluid tank, and

at the same time registers pressure on the gauge a Calling yourattention to the location of the needle. control 23, the close proximityof the needle'to the outlet no'mle prevents and eliminates any lag inthe shutting off of the flow of the liquid. Because of the shortdistance the liquid has to-travel before vaporizing, it allows noraggedstream of smoke to train the main column after the flow hasbeenshut off. With this clean shut off, it is possible to writeabsolutely a perfect dots and dashes with no connecting strings of smokewhatever. I

This method makes an .ideal,installation for sky writing, laying a smokescreen, or when using it at night with a very powerful searchlight. Thismethod of placing the searchlight inside the stream of smoke will giveforth the appearance of a huge ball of me shooting across the sky,resembling very closely a huge shooting star column of smoke and givesit a reddish glow, resembling very closely a terriflcally hot ball offlre at the lightand gradually diminishing into what appears to be asheet of flame several hundred feet in the rear of the ship.

,The coloring of the smoke may be accomplished by the use of any sulphurdye of reddish tint which would not be decomposed by the heat of theexhaust pipe. This would give the smoke a very red glow. If anothercolor would be desired, such -as green, the use of barium nitrate infinely divided form may be mixed intimately with the oil, and when thecharge is flred bythe exhaust gases the vapor will have a brilliantgreen appearance. Similarly, other striking colors may be produced bythe selection of suitable materials.

As the invention may be applied with various of planes without departingfrom its spirit and scope, the appended claims are not intended to limitthe same to the speciflc form disclosed.

The rays of light are reflected in the modifications to the variousforms of construction Having thus described our invention, what we claimis new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. The method of producing a meteor or comet effect in the air, with anaircraft, which consists of providing a light.beam, generating asmokelike substance in close proximity to the source of said light beam,discharging said smoke-like substance in an elongated comparativecontinuous stream adjacent one end of said beam, and illuminating saidstream with same beam of light by directing the same in a beamcoincident therewith.

2. The 'method of producing a meteor or comet eflect in the air, with anaircraft, which consists of providing a light beam, generating asmokelike substance in close proximity to the source of said light beam,intermittently discharging said smoke-like substance in an elongatedstream adjacent one end of said beam and illuminating said stream withsaid beam of light by directing the .same in a beam coincidenttherewith.

JOHN C. I IADDOCK. ZANTFORD D. GRANVILLE.

